The Archives

More goodness from virt and Ubiktune hot off their big wins in our OSVOSTOTY 2011 Awards. Jake Kaufman will be releasing the fourth installment in his popular FX series on March 1st on the Ubiktune label, with a pre-release listening party to take place beforehand on Noise Channel. TrueStar and virt will be talking about the album at length on the program before playing it live in its entirety and making it available to the public on Ubiktune and Bandcamp.

Oh, and you have to read this story setup for FX4, which is apparently a prequel to the events of FX3 (I never even knew these albums told a story… I just loved the music!):

“It concerns the loss of an experimental superweapon at sea, during a future war. Decades later it is recovered by a team of scientists, and restored to working condition. An aircraft which creates space-time anomalies, its use has unforeseen consequences, such as allowing a gay time-travelling vampire (FX3′s antihero) to cross into our universe. FX4 is written in FamiTracker using only 2A03 sounds, and contains 9 songs packed with loving detail.”

Sounds good to me! What do you think? Are you looking forward to the release of FX4 next week?

You may not remember our coverage of Josh “Darkhalo” Barnett in the past. We covered his release Phase Shift in addition to hosting a lengthy interview with the demoscene legend (he hates being called that, which makes it all the more fun), and he’s just put out an brand new album titled A Million Drops. While the million reasons to check it out may be an exaggeration, the I can think of at least thirteen reasons (hint: there are thirteen tracks), and an additional one is that it’s entirely free.

Interestingly, Barnett calls the album more of a compilation of tracks written around the same time as opposed to an album with any sort of theme, but I think the pieces all fit together pretty well. A brief ambient opener titled “Nightfall” eases you into another dimension where dreamy soundscapes are paired with funky basslines and subdued drum ‘n’ bass-style percussion. Many of tracks including the funky “Lost Memory” and the aptly titled “Another Rainy Saturday” with raindrop-like percussion make great use of repetition, mesmerizing and weaving dream-like atmospheres while you’ll chill out with “Rei” and “Low Light Affection,” bop your head to “Fading Inexorably,” and smile to with the incredibly playful “TMGC Carabiner.” Darkhalo also gets back into the drum ‘n’ bass that the’s known for, but still retains the overall atmosphere with the dark and lengthy “Ash Rain,” the highly electronic “Neuromancer,” and the icy “Wintermute.” And it’s all wonderfully produced; it’s unfair just how multi-talented some people are (Barnett is also a talented graphic artist and web designer as you can see from his website).

The album’s available for free on the aforementioned website along with lots of other music, so check it out and let us know what you think. Is this the perfect music for a cold rainy day, or perhaps for any time?

“Wow, it’s been ages.” That’s what we wrote when introducing episode 10 of the show. Saying it again would just be silly. So let’s try something more festive.

“Rise from your grave!!!” There, that feels better.

After a fantastic MAGFest, Jayson and I thought it best that we bring back the ol’ podcast. We’re kickin’ it off right in 2012, as our featured guest for this episode is Mustin (OneUps, Bad Dudes, etc)! We talk for over an hour about our favorite MAGFest memories, our favorite music, and more. At one point I veer off into this tangent about why I love LiveALive so much. Jayson runs from his computer as I spoil the game’s ending (you’re given fair warning in case you want to run too). But there’s plenty more to the episode than that. For example, does Mustin have a favorite band from MAGFest? He’s not quick to admit it, but you’ll probably find the answer if you listen the whole way through this episode!

If you listen closely, you’ll hear a total of 16 pieces of music cut into the episode. It’s a lot of music, but we keep it down below the talking. Our intro music is The OneUps’ Intergalactic Redux version of Contra, and the outro is the “Castle Rock” track off of the Bad Dudes’ Chrono Trigger album CHRONOTORIOUS. Get on it!

Earlier this month we mentioned the first single by a new group started by E.S. Posthumus’s Helmut Vonlichten called Les Friction. Now the group is offering a second downloadable song for free from their upcoming debut album, which we’ve now been told will be released less than a month from now on January 24, 2012. The new downloadable track is the title song for the album, Louder Than Words. But the news gets better, as the group will be releasing a third free song, “Here Comes The Reign,” about a week before the album drops.

“Louder Than Words” starts out with singing reminiscent of something you’d hear in a Queen or Styx piece, but the epic sound familiar to E.S. Posthumus fans soon joins in. At times, it feels a bit like “Unstoppable” from the E.S. Posthumus Makara album, but with an additional type of emotion on account of the vocals. As was written in our previous article about Les Friction, the lyrics really do add to the complexity and potential awesomeness of the sound created by E.S. Posthumus, and with this new song, we’re very amped to get this album in our hands.

To hear both of the downloadable Les Friction songs, visit their site, click the “Get it Now” button and enter your email address. This will get you the songs and also sign you up for news about their third single when it’s released.

Based on what you’ve heard from this new group, are you as excited as us for this album? Do you think the vocals add or detract from the now-classic ‘E.S. Posthumus sound?’

Have we ever mentioned that we love Jake Kaufman’s music? It was just months ago that we were rocking out to his excellent soundtrack for BloodRayne: Betrayal, and now he’s back with Mighty Switch Force which I would argue is one of his best works to date. Tons of upbeat pop and electronic tunes are featured along with 8-bit remixes from Kaufman himself, the yogurtbox team, and others. And it’s available for name your own price… which is free, if you’re cheap. Proceeds fund his studio so he can make even more amazing music.

Some of my favorites? I love the theme he’s created for the ‘Mighty‘ series, which is arranged here in “Title,” but the cool jazzy pop vibe in “Level Select,” the cute yet explosive sounds of “Love You Love You Love” and the frantic “Apprehend Them!” are quite impressive. Not to mention the foreboding “Final Level” which would be worthy of a villain as dastardly as Ivan Drago. Not to mention the excellent remixes!

Check it out on Bandcamp and throw in a few bucks for a good cause and some great music!

We’re huge fans of Justin Lassen’s work, and it just so happens that he recently was tasked with scoring the iOS title, Herbert. As the colorful artwork above would suggest, the game is pretty strange, and Lassen does a perfect job capturing the vibrant and playful essence of the title and its visuals with his soundtrack.

While the 12-track album is electronic in nature, it’s pretty eclectic in terms of the territory it covers with quirky yet bubbly pieces flanking either end and heavier electronica found within the album’s middle. I was immediately drawn to “Good Things Fly By” with its playful belltone backing paired with rhythmic bongos and exotic sitar melody, the steel drums in “Infatuation With Cheese,” and the dark and gurgling “A Bad Night” with its overdriven synth lines and punchy percussion. “Pervert Intelligence” also has a sort of alternative rock vibe going for it with some guitar work.

In all, it’s some wonderfully produced music and it’s available for a free download, so head over to Justin Lassen’s blog entry on Herbert and give it a listen.

To say that 2011 has been a good year for independent label Ubiktune would be a gross understatement. Since the earliest months of this year, they have graced us with some of the most fantastic albums across any genre, and with each passing release, the creativity of their contributors as well as the foresight and understanding of consumer preferences continue to grow and improve at ever increasing rates. September has been a real knockout month only halfway through with Impostor Nostalgia‘s retro inspired groove, and of course the official Bloodrayne: Betrayal Soundtrack by none other than Jake “virt” Kaufman.

With these 2 releases alone, Ubiktune would be able to pat themselves on the back with the most impressive back to back albums in quite some time. But apparently, if you are to be outdone, you should be outdone by yourself. This week, Ubiktune has presented yet 2 more album of the year candidates in Shnabubula’s Game Genie, an incredible SNES prog rock / jazz fusion masterpiece from a deeply interesting mind, and Jay Tholen, a man that could sell you this album on his beard alone, but manages to win one over with a great electronica album that mixes in diversity with the use of live instruments and vocals. As usual with the releases over at Ubiktune, these albums are free, though you can name your own price to support the artists if you feel inclined.

And no need to wait for preppy Brits to tell you where these albums can be found for your listening pleasure, this shortlegged Viking has got you covered. Head on over to Ubiktune.com and support the amazing creative outlet, at whatever price.

Famicom-Guitar, or Tendo as he refers to himself, has long operated his website with showcasing some truly wonderful arrangements of both obscure and well known Famicom soundtracks since the mid 2000′s. Over the years, the young guitarists has ventured beyond his little website, collaborating with many other artists on various albums and projects, like the recent Flapping Wings CD based on the Wings of Madoola game released in Japan. Based on archaic web design however, the songs released were only playable on site with a flash player, leaving no option for download.

But rejoice, a redesign was done and now for the first time, all songs are downloadable. Nearly 40 tracks across 4 virtual discs, from Rockman 4 to Doraemon are now all available for your personal pleasure. Just how awesome is this guy? Well, he blends Iron Maiden with Rockman seamlessly. Be sure to support the young Famicom hero and check on back from time to time for new songs.

Kunal mentioned in his review of LA Scoring Strings a few weeks back that strings are particularly challenging to recreate in a synthesized environment. Well, if you’re like me and prefer to use synthesized sounds, you’ve probably heard of Omnisphere, Spectrasonics’ flagship soft synth (or ‘Power Synth,’ as they refer to it).

While Dale reviewed the original release of Omnisphere a couple years ago, Spectrastonics recently launched version 1.5, offering more sounds and capabilities, so I thought I’d take a stab at this beast, and have even written two tracks using the software for your listening pleasure.

Wow, it’s been ages. Our last episode was back in December, and you may have guessed that we lost an episode in between. It was a damn good one, too! Gideon and I both felt it had been too long, so we got together for you on Easter Sunday to talk about some interesting topics including the recent charity efforts by the game music community for the disaster in Japan, the lack of CD releases for games (focusing on the Final Fantasy IV: The After YearsCD, and our main topic: the trend we’re seeing of more Hollywood film composers taking over franchises from game composers.

The introductory music for this episode is Manabu Namiki’s track from Oto Gift(one of the aforementioned charity efforts) titled “Not Alone.” I recommend checking it out if you haven’t already! Enjoy, and as always, please feel free to chime in on our debate!

We’ve been hearing a lot about ways to help out the people in Japan who have suffered so greatly after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in March. There have been auctions, concerts, and albums among others, and Basiscape has joined the fray with a small album of original music to raise funds for the Red Cross in Japan.

What does the team have to offer in this online-only digital release? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)

Huh, this one really snuck right by us. We were huge fans of the first de Blob game and it’s stellar soundtrack composed by John Guscott. With de Blob 2, however, THQ has seemingly released the game as a budget title in the United States without much fanfare. It’s quite a shame, as we would have loved to have done more with the game and it’s soundtrack prior to the game’s release.

The good news is, however, that GameSpot and IGN Australia have been doing their part to keep up with the game, and are each hosting free music from the game for you to download. Over on GameSpot’s videogame music blog, Sound Byte, you can download the game’s soundtrack in it’s entirety for FREE. They’re in .wav format, so be prepared for a lengthy download. Click here to check that out. Over on IGN Australia, there’s a special live set medley recording performed by John Guscott and some session players at a de Blob 2 launch event which you can grab here.

Pretty cool all around. I liked the physical disc that was released with the first game as a purchase bonus from certain retailers, but you can’t beat free, I suppose. Get over there, download the music, and let us know what you think!